Could Oklahoma State football's Sesi Vailahi land important role as freshman running back?
STILLWATER — Dominic Richardson at Baylor in 2020. Dezmon Jackson at the Big 12 Championship Game in 2021. Deondre Jackson in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in 2022.
What do all of these have in common?
Each of the former Oklahoma State running backs were fourth-stringers who ended up playing prominent roles late in the seasons mentioned.
For three straight years, the Cowboys have turned to their No. 4 back in meaningful moments, but who could that be this year?
Meet true freshman Sesi Vailahi.
A 5-foot-11, 195-pound product of West High School in Salt Lake City, Vailahi was one of the last additions to the recruiting class, committing in January, signing in February and arriving on campus in June.
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On Saturday, when the Cowboys host Central Arkansas in a 6 p.m. season opener at Boone Pickens Stadium, Vailahi could find himself on the field in what OSU hopes is a blowout win — and more importantly, Vailahi could be playing late in the season as the wear and tear of the year grinds on the trio of front-line backs.
With Deondre Jackson leaving the team last spring, and only three other scholarship backs remaining, Vailahi immediately slid into the No. 4 spot.
The Cowboys hope the trio of Ollie Gordon, Jaden Nixon and Elijah Collins can carry the load, but if injuries pile up, as they have in recent years, Vailahi could be called on. He was both a running back and receiver in high school, accounting for 240 rushing yards, 607 receiving yards and 13 total touchdowns as a senior. he ultimately picked OSU over BYU, Nevada and Utah State, among others.
“Sesi, he looks good,” Gordon said recently. “For his first couple weeks of being a college football player, he looks really good.”
The roster lists only one other running back, true freshman walk-on Hudson Devins from Berea, Ohio.
Collins and Nixon have both missed time because of minor injuries during the preseason, and keeping the primary backs healthy will be both important and difficult this season as the Cowboys try to reignite the run game after averaging 125 yards per game last season.
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If called upon, perhaps Vailahi can channel similar energy to the last little-known Salt Lake City-bred running back the Cowboys brought in: Jaylen Warren.
Warren came out of Vailahi’s crosstown rival, East High School, before going to Snow College, then Utah State, eventually landing at OSU as a super-senior in 2021. Now, he’s playing a major role in the running back rotation with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Vailahi isn’t quite ready right now to be what Warren was to the 2021 Cowboys, but the youngster has shown promise in just a few months in Stillwater.
“This summer, he showed a lot of talent,” Nixon said of Vailahi. “I’m excited to see him out here. He has a lot of potential.”
Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
OSU vs. Central Arkansas
KICKOFF: 6 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater (ESPN+)
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football might need Sesi Vailahi to play as freshman
